Parsley the King of the Herb Garden

As a child I don’t remember watching a huge amount of TV. However, one of my favorite shows on the BBC was called The Herb Garden. As a little girl I would settle down with my Mum and watch this gentle program centered around life in The Herb Garden with characters such as Parsley the Lion, Dill the dog, Sir Basil and Lady Rosemary and a wise old owl, obviously called Sage. At the beginning of each episode the eager young audience was invited to go through the wooden door to the garden, by using the magic word “Herbidacious” and enjoy fifteen minutes of herby fun and games.

I could go on and on about how brilliant this show was believe me, but the purpose of my little ditty this week is to highlight the herb parsley and how beneficial it can be for your health, particularly when it is thrown into your daily juice! The link with the TV show is spurious to say the least I know, but it is kind of interesting that Parsley was given the lead role in the show, perhaps because parsley is such an important herb. (It has also allowed me to spend a happy half hour skipping down memory lane on Youtube!)

Parsley truly is an overlooked tool in the culinary world. Often tossed absentmindedly on a plate as an after thought to fancy up a plain dish of fish or pasta, this little herb is a powerhouse of greenness and can more often than not nutritionally surpass the dish upon which it is placed.

Norman Walker, one of the pioneers of juicing refers to parsley as being one of the most potent of juices. You have to be careful and not to use too much parsley juice in your blends, or drink it by itself. But, if it is mixed with carrot, celery or other green juices, it can be very beneficial. Parsley is a source of natural beta-carotene, chlorophyll, essential fatty acids, folic acid, iron, vitamin B12, vitamin K and vitamin C. While you can get these benefits by adding parsley to salads or sandwiches, juicing parsley allows you to consume more concentrated amounts then would normally be possible when eating it whole. It is great as a cleanser, detoxifier, for building the immune system and as a breath freshener.

If you have a centrifugal juicer, then parsley should be treated like any leafy green and packed down tightly into the juicer before you turn it on – I usually tuck mine into some kale or spinach to make sure I get the most yield from it. You want to use a small bunch and you can add it almost any juice, but I think it works well when added to a simple carrot and apple juice:

King of The Herb Garden

4 carrots

2 apples

1 stick celery

½ a lime (not peeled)

Handful of parsley

Try it and see what a difference it will make!

(Of course for those of you who remember it and want a trip down memory lane, here is a link to an episode of The Herb Garden and for those of you haven’t seen it before, this is the kind of thing children in England grew up on – say no more!)